2021 West Valley earthquake
'2021 West Valley earthquake '''was a catastrophic 7.3 earthquake with the epicenter directly in the eastern half of Metro Manila. The earthquake occurred at 10:48 am local time on Monday, June 19. By the first week, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. An estimated 29 million people were affected by the quake. Direct death tolls estimate from 153,000 to 200,000, and countless hundreds of thousands injured, including President Rodrigo Duterte, and politicians including Bong Go and Imee Marcos. The earthquake was felt strongly in Metro Manila, along with CALABARZON, Central Luzon and even as far as Northern Luzon and MIMAROPA. Important buildings were partly damaged or destroyed, including Malacanang Palace, Batasang Pambansa, Coconut Palace, and the Senate Building. The capital and seat of government was temporarily moved to Cebu City, as other possible candidates such as Clark and Davao had also been affected by the disaster or in other destructive natural calamities. Humanitarian aid poured in from multiple countries, unfortunately, there were less and slower international and local response, as natural disasters had also been affecting many other major regions. It is the worst disaster in the history of the Philippines- the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake caused a higher death toll however, the devastation in Luzon caused long term economic effects on the Philippines, already suffering from internal conflict and financial crisis. Looting and sporadic violence were observed, and survivor groups also formed within Metro Manila. Background Situation The year of 2021 wasn't exactly having the best disaster record, with different natural disasters and manmade tragedies occurring into the first six months. Terrorist attacks had occurred in the United Kingdom, Somalia, Afghanistan and France, Record rare flooding caused a catastrophe in Central Africa and even the Sahara Desert, and a tornado season had swept through Northern Mexico, the Dakotas, Northern Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma, which resulted in terrible damage and loss of life. Seismic activity had also rocked Central China, Central Asia, Venezuela, Haiti, as well as Tokyo in Japan, and volcanic eruptions had gone off in Oceania and Guatemala. The Philippines was plagued with several problems around that period: * A humanitarian crisis has continued to plague parts of Mindanao following a tsunami spawned by a 7.7 earthquake in the Celebes Sea wrecked coastal communities recently on March. * Both upper class and middle class families fled the country along with many youths, entrepreneurs, medical workers, politicians, scientists, and journalists, as part of a brain drain triggered by the alarming rate of authoritarianism in the country and a severe economic crisis. * Tourism from Western countries as well as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, had fallen due to diplomatic crisis and other political conflicts. The finance, electronics and media sectors had significantly fallen, and many companies and businesses had exited the country, with notable ones like Google, Grab, Angkas, Nissan, Miniso, Starbucks and Apple. Geological Information The Philippines is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, causing frequent volcanic, and more significantly, seismic activity. Some of it's disasters from the past few years include the eruption of Taal in 2020, the Mindanao earthquake swarm in 2019, and the Luzon earthquake that occurred in the same year, causing 18 deaths mostly attributed to the collapse of a supermarket building. The area of Metro Manila and surrounding places including Rizal, Laguna and Cavite provinces had not experienced direct seismic activity yet, but however, has been subject since 1990s of a possible magnitude 7 earthquake occurring within the Marikina Valley Fault System, which includes the West Valley fault lines. It was expected to kill thousands, and cause massive infrastructure and economic damage. Earthquake The magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred on 19 June 2021 at 11:28 am local time, at a relatively shallow depth, with it's epicenter along Metro Manila in the West Valley Fault Line, in the cities of Pasig, Antipolo, Quezon City, Marikina and San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan. The earthquake was initially reported as a 6.8, before it was instantly upgraded to 7.0, and finally at 7.2. It lasted for approximately 29 to 42 seconds, and caused intense shaking in a large portion of Luzon. Intensities * '''Intensity 8: '''Pasig, Marikina, Taguig, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, Paranaque City, Muntinlupa, Manila, Caloocan, San Jose Del Monte, Antipolo, Cainta, Taytay, San Pedro * '''Intensity 7: '''Las Pinas, Pasay, Navotas, Valenzuela, Malabon, Binangonan, General Mariano Alvarez, Dasmarinas, Bacoor, Imus, Marilao, Bocaue, Cavite City * '''Intensity 6: '''Tagaytay, Taal, San Fernando, Angeles City, Calamba, Lemery, Batangas City, Balanga * '''Intensity 5: '''Olongapo, Tarlac, Dagupan, Cabanatuan City, Lucena, Puerto Galera, Atimonan, Baler, Baguio City * '''Intensity 4: ' Santiago, Marinduque * '''Intensity 3: '''Naga City, Cauayan City, Dinapigue, Sablayan, Burias Island, Jomalig Island Damage Manila The country's capital city, '''Manila, '''was among the hardest hit cities after the earthquake. The iconic Manila City Hall suffered severe damage, with the clock tower partly collapsing and the interior badly damaged. The Rizal Monument in Luneta suffered minor damage, with cracks on the obelisk. Intramuros, a major historic district in the city, lost many heritage, with the collapse of the Aduana Building, most of Fort Santiago, San Agustin Church, and several other commercial establishments. At least 20 were injured when parts of the Quiapo Church fell into Plaza Miranda. Several buildings in the Philippine General Hospital complex were severely damaged. Meanwhile, in the Malacanang Complex, the palace suffered exterior and interior damage, along with the Presidential Museum. Several other landmarks in the city also suffered severe or catastrophic damage, including Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Coliseum and Escolta. However, the worst affected area in the city as well as in the entirety of Metro Manila, was the area of Tondo and Divisoria where over 21,000 died alone. 95% of the slums and tenements in the area were destroyed, killing thousands of people. Mass panic and stampedes occurred on Recto Avenue. Old commercial buildings housing shops collapsed. The entire area, during the evening of the same day, was described as hell- fires billowed from all parts of the region, civil unrest happened, and thousands were left on the streets. Northern Metro Manila Total collapse of several commercial buildings had occurred in the north, heavily concentrated in areas like South Caloocan, Cubao, New Manila and Marikina. Meanwhile, hundreds were trapped in collapsed slums in Payatas and Addition Hills. The Batasang Pambansa building partially collapsed, with fortunately no deaths but about 45 injuries. 19 people were killed in total when several bridges spanning the Pasig River fell, including C5 Bridge and the Makati Mandaluyong Bridge. Part of the left span of the Guadalupe Bridge also fell. Several schools suffered severe damage or collapse, including Quezon City Science High School, Ateneo De Manila, and portions of University of the Philippines. Sections of the LRT 2 fell into the streets, and Ali Mall in Araneta collapsed. An MRT train also derailed and crashed into the island platform of Boni Station, injuring 19. A fire broke out in SM North Edsa, which was extinguished after 10 hours. Southern Metro Manila While not as badly affected as Manila and the North cities, cities in the Southern District of Metro Manila were also largely affected, as it also felt Intensity 7 shaking. A tenement complex in Taguig collapsed, killing 134. Windows and debris fell from condo buildings and skyscrapers in Bonifacio Global City, and liquefaction was observed in it's parks and other wide spaces. In Makati, at least 13 old office buildings collapsed, with 39 casualties in total. Parts of the ceiling and interior decorations in the Glorietta complex fell, and a fire emerged from the Petron Megaplaza in the business district. The city's main airport, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, was shut down, with Terminal 4 partly collapsing, and the ceiling partially caved in at Terminal 2. Large cracks were visible on the runway, and all airlines couldn't depart. The Runway Manila skybridge fell on several cars along the NAIA Expressway, killing 4. In Paranaque City, a large portion of SM Bicutan's Building B collapsed and crushed several shoppers alive. A public hospital also collapsed and killed around 25 people including those on the ground in Dona Soledad Avenue. A Jollibee branch went on flames, and the City Hall was evacuated as the structure had been weakened. Cavite Cavite reported at least 895 casualties due to the earthquake. In Tagaytay City, several landslides were reported and damage was also reported on People's Park in the Sky. However, damage was also worse in the northern half of the province, where dozens of homes and buildings collapsed in cities like Bacoor, Imus, Dasmarinas, General Trias and Kawit. Laguna Central Luzon Casualties Emergency Management Category:Fictional Disasters